Nicholas Burns, a career diplomat, is in the final stages of his investigation to serve as President Biden’s ambassador to China, people familiar with the matter told Axios.
Why is it important?: Across the administration, there is a consensus that the U.S. relationship with China will be the most critical (and consequent) of Biden’s presidency. From trade to Taiwan, the stakes are high. Burns could be one of the first diplomatic candidates announced in the coming weeks.
- Biden set the table for those candidacies on Thursday, starting with the State Department’s Foreign Service, as he appointed nine career diplomats for Somali shipments to Senegal.
- The Foreign Service traditionally supplies 70% of the approximately 190 candidates, and appointing appointed professionals first should reduce internal complaints about political appointments.
- The rest of the sites, usually in coveted capitals of Western Europe and crucial Asian countries, are usually reserved for well-endowed donors, former politicians or policy experts.
Between lines: Burns is a professor at Harvard University and a former State Department spokesman who ended his foreign service career by serving as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs under President George W. Bush.
- By sending him to Beijing, Biden would indicate the preference of an experienced diplomat over a high-powered politician.
- The last four U.S. ambassadors to China have had experience in retail policy, winning statewide elections, either as governor or senator.
- Bloomberg reported on Burn’s potential nomination in February. No final decision has been made by the president.
The intrigue: Biden officials have also considered former U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky for the position.
- Although not a politician, Barshefsky obtained Senate confirmation, served in President Clinton’s cabinet, and negotiated with the Chinese for his entry into the World Trade Organization.
Deepen: Biden officials have been urged to appoint a former Beijing elected official, according to theory, the Chinese prefer to deal with a big name who can pick up the phone, cut red tape and speak directly to the president.
- “He has to designate a‘ wow-wow ’person to show the world the importance of this relationship,” said former Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat who served as Obama’s second ambassador to China.
- “It is also critical that the person has the power to negotiate on behalf of the president,” he said. “Ambassadors should not be just one person to send messages.”
The conclusion: With the National Security Council and the Biden State Department intensively concentrated in China, the next ambassador’s job could be more about implementing the policy rather than creating it.
- In addition to working with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Biden’s Chinese envoy will also have to coordinate with former Secretary of State John Kerry on climate change.
- The ambassador will also have to fight Kurt Campbell, an army secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, who is now playing a newly created “Asian Tsar” role in the National Security Council.